Safety Alert: If you believe your computer activities are being monitored, please access this site from a safer computer. To immediately exit this site, click the escape button. If you are in immediate danger, contact 911, a local crisis line, or the U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 and TTY 1-800-787-3224.

Safety Alert: If you believe your computer activities are being monitored, please access this site from a safer computer. To immediately exit this site, click the escape button. If you are in immediate danger, contact 911, a local crisis line, or the U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 and TTY 1-800-787-3224.

As the leading national Latin@ domestic violence organization, Casa de Esperanza is committed to research and evaluation that promotes social justice in the field of domestic violence and sexual assault. The National Latin@ Research Center on Family and Social Change is one of the cornerstones of this work and prioritizes research and evaluation methods that elevate the voices and realities of Latin@ communities. The center’s work is complemented by an advisory council of nationally recognized researchers and academics with extensive expertise in a variety of fields of specific relevance to Latin@ communities.

The research team advances three main goals:

Produce knowledge about Latin@ communities’ experiences in the U.S.A. and the multidimensional issue of domestic violence.

Elevate community-based and culturally-specific work through evaluation and research.

The research team partnered with Lake Research Partners, the Avon Foundation, and the NO MORE organization to develop a large and comprehensive study on sexual assault and domestic violence in the Latin@ community. This groundbreaking research has been used by many in the field to shape public policy, advocate for more culturally responsive and appropriate services, and pursue funding for culturally specific initiatives.

Increased immigration enforcement policies have impacted the Latin@ community, especially in the area of domestic violence (DV), where some Latin@ families have been negatively impacted by these policies, at times in life-threatening ways. This study documents the voices of survivors expressing fear due to immigration enforcement and language access issues when reaching out for help.

Immigrant Latin@ youth affected by domestic violence are in a unique position to provide researchers with insight to the needs of their communities. Youth at Caminar Latino, a comprehensive, community- based program for Latin@s affected by domestic violence, conducted a study exploring the effects of current immigration laws on Latin@ families in which violence had occurred. This study presents qualitative narratives by Latin@ adults and youth on how immigration has threatened Latin@ family’s well-being and physical safety.

In elevating community-based and culturally-specific work, the research team collaborated with four other Latin@ community based organizations (La Paz, Trans Latin@ Coalition, Mujeres Latinas in Acción, Voces Latinas and the Amig@s initiative of Casa de Esperanza) to develop an evaluation toolkit that is culturally centered and builds the capacity of community-based organizations to evaluate their work.

If you or a loved one is experiencing domestic violence and wants to access resources and support, please click here to be routed to the Casa de Esperanza website where you can access this information.

The National Latin@ Network for Healthy Families and Communities is a project of Casa de Esperanza that builds bridges and connections among research, practice and policy to advance effective responses to eliminate domestic violence and to promote healthy relationships within Latin@ families and communities. LEARN MORE